Protecting Me
by Kurissyma san Tybalt
Summary: The perfect evening ends in tragedy. Why did she take the bullet that was meant for him? Not a deathfic. Many fluffy moments but drama to come! ROYAI.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I disclaim FMA and all affiliates as well as the lyrics to Aly & Aj's 'Protecting Me' used at the end of this chapter.**

**Protecting Me**

**Chapter 1**

It was a cold evening and a gentle drizzle of rain was falling over the sleepy city of Central. It was only just past six, but from the darkness outside you might think it were several hours later and, despite the time, most people had already laid down to bed for the night or settled themselves in front of a warm fire with a good book.

Out in the frigid streets at this time, however, there was still one man- a Brigadier General working for the Amestris Armed Forces' Central Branch who had managed to crash his car into a tree off the side of the road the day before, when his First Lieutenant's dog had dived into his lap from the passenger seat, and who was now in the dismal position of having to walk home in the rain.

Roy Mustang hated the rain.

10 minutes took him, soaking from his long walk, to the front door of a Ms Gracia Hughes, wife of the deceased Brigadier General –former Lieutenant Colonel- Maes Hughes, who had long been a close friend of his. It was a large house which very frequently found itself heavily laden with guests- it wasn't that Ms Hughes and her daughter were lonely, only that they were hospitable to a fault.

As it was, when Roy knocked on the heavy wooden door of her home that night, four young women were chattering animatedly in the living room, while one slept upstairs with Gracia's daughter, having gone up there half an hour ago to tuck her into bed and fallen asleep herself.

"I'll get it!" said a loud voice that Roy immediately recognised as Miss Winry Rockbell, the daughter of two doctors who had been killed treating the many wounded and sickly during the Ishbal war.

"Good evening, Miss Rockbell," he said, taking his military cap off politely.

"'Ria, fetch us a blanket, won't you?" Winry yelled over her shoulder after surveying the dripping Brigadier General critically.

"Two seconds!!" came the voice of Second Lieutenant Maria Ross from the living room.

"I hope I'm not intruding," said Roy as Maria chucked a blanket through the door that joined the front entrance to the next room, and Winry wrapped it tightly around his shoulders.

"Nup- just stay here a minute," said Winry, dashing over to the living room door and poking her head through for a moment before nodding. "Okay, Shessy's decent- come on in."

Roy walked into the room and blinked in surprise as he saw Private Sheska standing, blushing, on a table, wearing a rose satin dress with a ruffled hem and being fussed over by Gracia who had a tape measure around her neck and fifty odd pins protruding from her mouth.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, a little embarrassed at being caught intruding on such a private congregation.

Gracia spat a mouthful of pins into her cupped hands and shook her head, smiling. "No problem, Mr Mustang- how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Are you looking for Riza?" asked Maria helpfully, "because she ditched with Elysia." When Roy only looked confused, she elaborated. "We're sorting out our dresses for the military academy reunion. Riza's up next but she fled under the guise of tucking Elysia in."

"Actually," said Roy, "I just came by on my way home to thank Ms Hughes again for the great party she threw last weekend."

"No problem at all," said Gracia, beaming, before sliding the pins back between her lips and returning to Sheska's dress.

"Well while you're here," said Winry, "could you go and find her for us? Elysia's room is first to the right at the top of the stairs."

Roy nodded obligingly and went to find her.

-

Elizabeth Hawkeye was a beautiful woman and, at that moment, as she lay next to Elysia with her long golden hair spreading across the pillow and her pale pink lips slightly parted, she looked positively angelic. Her outfit consisted of a pretty blue half-sleeved top and a black pencil skirt that reached down to cut off elegantly at her knees- it was simple enough, but still a much prettier sight than the shapeless military uniform he usually saw her wearing.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye," he prompted her softly, not wanting to awaken the sleeping child beside her. "Lieutenant Hawkeye?" He touched her shoulder gently- his fingers tingling slightly at the brief physical contact- and said her name again, a little louder. When Riza only screwed up her face just slightly in a sort of unconscious frustration, he bent down so that his breath tickled her ear and whispered "wake up, Riza" very softly.

He only said it quietly but it had the desired effect.

Riza bolted into a sitting position, her cheeks slightly pink. She looked around the mostly dark room in disorientation and then looked back at Roy, upon whom her gaze came to rest. "…Sir?"

"I was just stopping by but Miss Rockbell asked me to fetch you down," he explained, suddenly a little nervous.

"Tell her I'm dead," said Riza, flopping back down beside Elysia in a very un-Riza-like way.

"Afraid she'll dress you up like poor Sheska?"

"Sheska's dressed already? Goodness, it really is my turn next…"

"This is for the Military Academy reunion, right?"

"Uhm… yeah," said Riza, looking a little embarrassed as she sat up properly. "Gracia and Winry-chan are coming as our guests and, well, they wanted in on the fun of dressing us up." She shivered noticeably. "Oh, they've got me this hideous blue dress…"

"Relax, Lieutenant- I'm sure you'll light up the floor," said Roy, grinning as he straightened and extended a hand to pull her out of bed.

Riza blushed lightly and walked downstairs ahead of him.

"_Finally!_" Winry complained as she walked in. "What'd you _do_? Fall asleep up there?"

Riza was about to deny it, but Roy just grinned, "yeah, she did."

"Idiot," said Winry, shaking her head as she picked up what Roy thought was a very pretty sapphire dress and handed it to her, "now go and change so we can make the adjustments."

Surprisingly, Riza turned to Roy and appealed to him, "please help me- this is torture."

Roy grinned and shook his head, "not to me. Go ahead and change- I'd like to see."

Gracia and Maria glanced at each other and shook their heads, "no way!"

"Huh?

"You're a guy!" Gracia exclaimed. "You can't see until the night of the dance!"

"It's practically a rule!" Maria agreed and Winry backed them both up.

"That's a pity," said Roy. "But seeing you here is rather convenient in itself. You see, I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, Riza, and I think I may have a slightly larger chance of you accepting me if your friends are around to help me push you into it."

"Sir?"

"May I have the pleasure of escorting you to the ball?"

Riza blushed lightly as Maria, Winry and Gracia started giggling out their fervent approval of the match and she nodded. "I'd like that, sir."

"I'll pick you up around 8, then?"

Riza nodded approvingly, "alright," she said. "It's a date." A few moments passed in silence (except for the other girls' giggling in the background) before Riza turned her back on Roy, a huge blush creeping up her cheeks, and left to change without a word.

In a desperate attempt to avoid the childish kissy faces Maria, Gracia and Winry were affording him, Roy fled soon after.

-

The night of the reunion came and, despite all of the bets the men had made on exactly how late he would arrive (including Falman, who had bet that he would forget where she lived and not turn up at all), he found his way to her small one-person apartment and managed to do it relatively on schedule.

Then again, Havoc had driven him there.

The other man and his date waiting in the car, Roy made his way up the three staircases that led to Riza's apartment. She opened the door on the first knock and he wondered if she had been waiting for him by the door prior to his arrival.

The sapphire dress from the day before looked a thousand times better on her than it had laying on the couch with the others. Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were marked by a faint tint of rouge that added just the right amount of colour to her pale complexion.

"You look beautiful," said Roy sincerely, presenting her with a small box containing a corsage, which she inspected sceptically.

"This isn't some high school dance, sir."

"Roy," he corrected her. "And, you know, I think it'll look lovely."

Riza didn't complain anymore and she let him pin it on her before smiling. "Let's go- we'll be late."

-

"Riza! You look so great!" Sheska exclaimed when they reached the car.

Riza looked pained, "only because Gracia spent three or four hours attempting to fix me up and then left and forbade me to move for the next few before Roy arrived."

"Same with me," Sheska agreed sympathetically. "But you do look amazing, and your corsage is so pretty! Did Colonel Mustang give it to you?"

Riza blushed a little and nodded.

"It's lovely!"

"Yes, it is," Riza agreed and Roy seemed very happy with himself as he climbed into the front passenger seat, next to Havoc, who was driving.

'You both look like angels," Havoc told his girlfriend and his 'little sister' faithfully and they smiled at him from the back seat.

"Are we picking up Winry next?" asked Sheska, leaning over the gearshift into the front part of the car to talk to Havoc.

"Actually," said Havoc, grinning to himself. "I think Fullmetal's taking her."

Sheska squealed loudly and Riza chuckled a little to herself as a certain evening in her apartment with Edward Elric came to mind.

"_You're in love with Winry-chan, aren't you?"_

"_WHAT?!"_

"That's so sweet! Finally!" Sheska giggled happily, eyes wide beneath the brown contacts she had replaced her glasses with for the night.

"Yes, finally," Riza agreed.

"Though you're one to talk," Havoc pointed out. "I was beginning to think that you and the Chief'd never get together."

Both Riza and Roy blushed profusely.

"We're not _together_, Havoc," Riza explained levelly. "We're going to the reunion as friends and friends only."

"Sure y'are, guys. Sure y'are."

Roy opened his mouth to protest his innocence but Riza leaned forward to rest a hand on his arm. "Just leave it," she decided with a shrug. "Let him think what he wants."

Roy just shrugged and turned to look out the window.

Sheska drew attention back to herself with a small giggle and she and Riza soon lapsed into a comfortable conversation in the back seat, while the men did the same in the front.

-

The reunion was held in the gymnasium which -being that of a military academy- was, needless to say, very large. Prior to the event, it had been decked out in streamers, banners and balloons that made it seem rather more like a child's birthday party than a high school's 10-year-reunion but it was just being in the familiar building that made a difference to the ex-students of the academy.

As soon as she walked onto campus Riza felt a sudden wave of nostalgia and was brought all the way back to her graduation ceremony –the last time she had ever been there- where she had been Valedictorian and she had walked off stage after her speech to find herself instantly enveloped by Roy's arms, being kissed by him.

Riza glanced over at her high school sweetheart with a secret sort of smile. Ishbal and the furthering of both of their military careers had always made the relationship seem impossible to them as they were now, but she fancied sometimes that the spark was still there and liked to think that it helped her to focus on her ultimate goal of protecting him at all costs.

Mind apparently centred around the same memory, Roy returned her smile and offered his arm to her before they walked in together.

"Lizzie!! Lizzie Hawkeye!!" cried the obnoxious voice of a girl Riza vaguely remembered loathing in her teenage years and a moment later she caught sight of a familiar face making its way through the crowd. "Lizzie! Remember me?"

"Jessica," said Riza, her smile stiff. "It's nice to see you again. What have you been doing since I saw you last?"

"Oh, I'm done with the military," the woman said, waving a hand vaguely. "I'm in the modelling business. What about you? …Oh. Stupid question."

Riza's left eyebrow twitched slightly but she kept smiling.

"Oh, goodness! Roy Mustang, is that you?!" Jessica exclaimed, apparently only just having noticed him on Riza's arm. "Don't tell me that you two are still dating after all of these years?"

"No, we're not," said Riza. "We just work together."

"Oh!" said Jessica, brightening. "In that case, would you like to dance, Roy? I absolutely adore this song!"

"Actually," said Roy, "Riza and I just arrived- I think we'll just go and see who else is here first."

"Later then!" Jessica called after him but he just pretended not to hear.

"You know I won't mind if you want to dance with other people, Roy," Riza told him once they were out of earshot. 'I'm a terrible dancer myself and it's not like we're actually dating."

"It would be rude," said Roy, shrugging as though it were obvious. "Besides, I'd much prefer your company than hers."

"That's not saying much," said Riza, blushing a little. "Come on, I think I see Gracia over there with Maria and –goodness- Denny. Do you think they came together? I hope so."

"Are you actually supporting a relationship that goes against military regulations?" asked Roy, raising an amused eyebrow.

Riza just shrugged, "it's not against the rules unless it interferes with their work- all the fraternization laws really state is that we –and by we, I mean, of course, we soldiers in general- can't display excessive affection while in uniform or on duty. And besides, she's obviously very much in love with him."

"Is that true?" asked Roy, blinking.

"That she's in love with him? Well, yes, from what I've-"

'No," he said. "I mean, is it true about the fraternization laws only coming into effect when we're in uniform."

"Hmm? Oh, yes. That's true- we looked at it in class one year, remember?"

Roy, who had spent most of his time in the military academy in the principal's office for defacing (or blowing up) school property, just shrugged.

"Well, yes. It is- I'm sure of it."

"That's interesting… I never knew that before…"

"Just what are you thinking, Roy?" asked Riza, noting the odd look on his face curiously.

"Nothing," said Roy, a light blush crawling up his neck. "Let's just go and see them, right?"

"Sure."

-

"Riza! Over here!" called out a blonde girl in a deep purple dress, who was clinging to the arm of Major Elric, waving frantically.

Riza turned and smiled, tapping Roy on the arm so that he could follow her gaze and do the same, though his smile became notably more forced as they neared the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"Why is he here?" he was muttering to himself. "He didn't even _go_ to our academy!"

"He's a guest," Riza hissed back, but she was to receive no reply as they drew closer to the couple.

"Wow, Mustang," said Ed, sounding pretty smug. "What'd you do? _Order_ her to come to the reunion with you? Because there's no way Lieutenant Hawkeye's stupid enough to fall under your spell."

Roy narrowed his eyes and if it weren't for Riza's hand on his arm, he might have punched him. "Actually," she said to him, "I came here of my own will."

Winry beamed, "So are you two having a good time?"

Roy and Riza nodded politely. "It's nice seeing the old place again," she commented vaguely.

"I bet it is," said Winry. "Happy memories?"

"Wonderful memories," said Riza and Roy agreed.

"I'm glad-"

"Oh! If it isn't Mr Mustang and Miss Hawkeye! How are you both?!"

They turned around to yet another familiar face. "Principal Emrald, it's good to see you again!"

"But my goodness- the Prom King and Queen! Are you two still together?"

Riza blushed as Winry and Ed's mouths dropped open and she shook her head. "Not really," she said, then she smiled at Roy. "But we're still very close."

"That's fantastic," said the Principal, smiling. "Though it is a pity that such a beautiful couple should have broken up."

"It didn't make sense to continue the relationship after he left for war," said Riza. "But I came under his command again afterwards and we've stayed together ever since."

"Well, I hope you remain together for a very long time," she said. "Please excuse me while I go and mingle with the others. Have a nice night, you two!"

Riza resisted the strong urge to run away and forced herself to turn around and face Ed and Winry.

"You two were _dating_?!" Winry squealed, while Ed expressed his horror that Roy had ever been a 'King' of anything.

"We were a couple in high school," was all Riza would say, smiling to herself.

"Why'd ya choose _Mustang_?" asked Ed, disgusted.

Riza just shrugged, "I'll never know," she said. "We were young and in love- much like yourself and Winry-chan, right?"

Neither answered, both blushing furiously, and Riza smiled a little wider. "Uhh, Winry, I'm gonna get a drink," said Ed quickly. "Want one?"

"Sure," said Winry, looking down. "Just a soda, thanks."

"See ya…"

"How about you, Riza?" asked Roy, watching him go. "I feel like bugging the Shrimp."

"Fine, I'll have a soda too," said Riza. "But please don't go overboard on Edward, okay? I'll hear about it if you do and I won't be happy."

"Yes, Mother," said Roy and he kissed her cheek quickly before leaving.

Riza just shook her head fondly and turned back to Winry, whose blush had died down and who was now grinning widely. "What?" she asked, catching the look the younger girl was affording her.

"You're still in love with Mr Mustang, aren't you?" she teased happily.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Riza stubbornly, smoothing out her dress and fiddling with the hem restlessly. "That was a very long time ago."

"But the spark's still there, isn't it?" asked Winry, looking over at Roy talking to Ed (who was fuming) by the refreshments table.

Following her gaze, Riza just sighed softly. "If it is for me, it's not for him," she replied under heaving prompting from Winry.

"I don't think so," said Winry sceptically. "But, you know, this is the perfect opportunity to set it straight- this ball. Talk to him, dance with him- let him know that the magic's still there. Promise?"

"I can't believe I'm taking relationship advice from a teenager…"

"Buuuut…?"

"I promise to _try_, Winry-chan," was all Riza would say.

"And if it's still there for him too?"

Riza blushed lightly, "then I'll… I suppose I'll…"

"Give it a chance?"

"Sure," said Riza, and she smiled. "I'll give it a chance."

"You girls ready to dance?" asked Ed as he and Roy returned with the drinks.

"I'm up for it!" said Winry immediately and then she turned a pointed look on Riza.

"Me too," she agreed dutifully and she placed her drink down beside Winry's on a nearby table. "Roy?"

"Of course," he replied and he took her arm again to lead her out onto the dance floor.

The loud hip hop music that had been belting out just a moment ago suddenly stopped and was replaced by a slower track- courtesy of a rather excited looking Principal Emrald, who was standing with Gracia Hughes over near the DJ's booth and waving happily in their direction.

Riza chose to ignore that and linked her arms around his neck silently, resting her head on his shoulder and burying her face into the hollow of his neck. Roy's arms came around her waist and they swayed slowly to the music, eyes drifting shut and breathing growing deeper and more at ease…

Riza's eyes snapped open as her sharp ears picked up on the familiar _click_ of a gun's safety being disabled. It was nearby, or she wouldn't have heard it. She froze and scrutinized the crowd over Roy's shoulder, concentrating too hard to even register his concern at her sudden halt. She was worried. The room was filled with more than one hundred and fifty odd people- the majority of whom were legally permitted to hold and fire a gun, with the only ones not allowed being guests such as Gracia and Winry.

"What is it?" Roy whispered in her ear, his lip moving against her pallid skin.

Riza didn't reply, in that exact moment she had identified the source of the sound and whirled her and Roy around, exposing her own back to the speeding bullet as it left the barrel of the handgun with a loud _bang_. She fell forward and slammed into his chest, choking out a small cry as she did so.

The entire room seemed to freeze and by the time anyone had turned to search for the sniper, he or she was long gone.

Silence. Then Roy's horrified whisper of her name. "_Riza_."

At that, the entire room burst into a frenzy of screams and cries and those who knew the would-be couple well attempted to shove their way closer to the centre of the dance floor, where Roy was kneeling with her in his arms, at a loss to do anything but stare at her suddenly flushed face.

"Riza!!" Winry called, the first to break the small bubble the others had formed around them. "Riza!!"

"What the hell happened, Mustang?!" yelled Edward, following after.

"The shot was meant for me," Roy choked out, unable to tear his eyes away from Riza's face miserably.

"Well don't just sit there! Somebody call someone!!" Winry screeched.

"I already have," said a miscellaneous voice from the crowd and several others also testified to having previously called the emergency services.

"They'll be here in about 10 minutes," said another woman and Roy couldn't confirm so much as he direction the voice was coming from, let alone who it belonged to. He just clutched Riza's limp body closer to his chest and whispered sweet things to her- even going so far as to pray to an unknown God for her survival.

True to their word, the ambulance arrived almost exactly 10 minutes later to take her and, though they tried, they could not persuade Roy to let her go, eventually resorting to let him ride in the ambulance with her and hold her hand over the edge of the gurney.

In less than half an hour, what was supposed to have been the best night of his life, and the one in which he finally confessed his feelings to Riza, had become the worst. In less than half an hour, he had gone from the luckiest man on earth to possibly the very most miserable.

It had only taken half an hour for his entire life to be turned completely upside down.

-

_You, You're always there for me  
When I need you most  
Day and night you're by my side  
Protecting me  
When I feel like crashing down  
You seem to be around  
There you are  
You're not that far 'cause_

Whenever, where ever baby  
You'll protect me  
No matter what  
Hold me tight with all your might  
And you'll never let me go  
Protecting me

-

_**AN/ **_**Please don't kill me, guys- I didn't INTEND for it to be angsty... One moment I was being all fluffy and cute and the next Riza had gotten herself shot in the back! I don't know how it happened, honest!! This was just gonna be a cute little oneshot, I swear! ...But you guys'll DEFINITELY murder me if I leave it there, huh? **

**Luv Ri-chan**_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The day that followed the reunion was a particularly sunny one but not a single particle of light was allowed to filter through the heavy drapes that covered the windows of the hot and musty hospital room. The patient, a young, blonde gunshot victim, needed her rest.

The sharp smell of hospital-grade disinfectant mingled with the stuffiness of the room itself and the sweat of its roasting occupants to create the harsh sort of odour that the military men sitting by the patient's bedside usually associated with the end of a long hard battle- one in which a lot of blood had been shed and more had been lost than won.

Then again, that was close enough to how each of them were feeling at that moment anyway.

Brigadier General Roy Mustang was one of the few men who had learned to accept the necessity of the occasional 'hit and miss' and even believed that it was good for the soul to taste defeat once in a while... That in itself was fine- as long is it was him getting hit. Him, and not his subordinates.

Especially not _her_.

He had been by her side all night. The others had come and gone at various intervals throughout but he, alone, had refused to leave her side. Everyone had tried to convince him to go home but they had known from the beginning that it would come to nothing.

He loved her far too much to leave her for anything in the world.

-

As it was bound to, day turned to night and thus the first day of his being without her came to an end, but still he did not leave. Even when Gracia and Elysia Hughes came especially to beg him to, he did not leave, merely drew his chair closer still, leaned his elbow on the side-table and indicated that he intended to get himself comfortable and remain again through the night.

The pair left dejectedly, both of them very close to tears.

The doctor made his last visit for the night and, after a brief physical exam, he bid both Roy and the unconscious Riza goodnight, assuring him that her condition was stable before suggesting he get some sleep and leaving, himself.

Roy, exhausted from his lack of sleep the previous night, drew the spare blanket Ms Hughes had left for him over himself and reached over the bed to turn out the lamp on the left-hand side-table, freezing as he caught a glimpse of Riza's facial muscles slackening slightly and her lips parting. He drew back quickly as she took a deep, shuddering breath and rested a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Riza?" he asked softly, his breath catching in his throat, but she didn't reply and grew still again. "Riza?"

A few moments passed in silence then… "I… I'm sorry, Roy. I'm so tired right now… Please don't make me talk. Please don't make me explain what I did for you…"

"Of course," said Roy softly and quickly. "But, God, I was so scared for you, Riza. I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you."

"I would hope that… you would contin…ue following your… your dream, Roy…" Riza whispered in reply, her voice becoming slower and softer, "…'nd… become… the Fuh…rer… even if I… couldn't make it… couldn't make it there with you…"

Roy just shook his head and leaned down to kiss her forehead gently, refusing to even consider it as a possibility. "Rest now, okay? I'll call the doctor in the morning."

Riza closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, "all right… but, Roy?" Her eyes slid open again, darkened by concern.

"Yes?"

"You're… okay, aren't you? Nothing happened to you after I… I fell…?"

"I'm fine, Riza. Thanks to you."

Riza just smiled contentedly and a few moments later she had fallen back to sleep. Roy reached for her hand and caressed it gently, bringing it up to his lips before settling it in his lap and holding it as he, too, fell asleep at long last.

-

"She's grown up so well, hasn't she, Mustang?" General Grumman said with a sad small smile as he stared down at his sleeping granddaughter from where he sat at the edge of her bed upon his arrival the next morning. "So beautiful- just like her grandmother…"

"An angel," Roy agreed sincerely, not looking at his superior but down at Riza's sleeping form.

"…When I asked you before if you would accept my granddaughter's hand in marriage, did you know that I meant little Riza-chan?"

Roy shook his head silently.

"Does it change anything?"

Roy looked up in surprise and shook his head. "Not right now," he managed to say eventually. "But maybe someday… if she'll have me."

"You've fallen in love with her, haven't you, Mustang?"

Roy glanced down at Riza for a moment before nodding. "Yes, sir," he said. "But you mustn't assume that she feels the same way..."

Grumman just chuckled, "the girl took a bullet for you Mustang- I think it's fairly obvious."

Roy just stared at his beautiful lieutenant longingly, wishing he could believe that Grumman's hopeful implications actually held some semblance of meaning within them… "Maybe someday, sir," he repeated sadly. "Maybe someday."

The two men sat in silence for a while, becoming so detached that a tiny moan from Riza ten minutes later sent them both jumping at least ten feet in the air.

"Grandfather?" she asked softly, then pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Grandfather, what are you doing here? I'm going to be perfectly fine, so you needn't have worried about coming down from the East-"

"It's been too long since I've seen you anyway, Riza-chan," said Grumman, dismissing her protests with a wave of his hand. "Besides, I've nothing better to be doing back home and your birthday is next week."

"Oh, please don't go making a fuss again this year, Grandfather. Birthday parties are for children."

"No, they aren't, Riza-chan! If you're growing out of anything then it's the military- when are you going to find a nice man and settle down?"

"It'll happen when it happens, Grandfather."

"You know, you're not getting any younger, Riza-chan. Don't you want to act now before all the good men are taken?"

"Not particularly," said Riza. Then she turned to Roy. "I'm sorry for having you put up with him, General. Has he been bothering you here long?"

"Oh, he's great company," said Roy, grinning. "We've been playing chess." He gestured over to a portable set and Riza rolled her eyes.

What _was it _with military men and chess?

"Shouldn't you be back at headquarters, sir? I hate to think how much work you've already missed because of my-"

"It's fine," said Roy. "I promise that I'll do it when we _both_ go back. Together."

"You're just trying to get out of your paperwork again, sir," she chided him and he grinned.

"If I am, you can't stop me," he teased. "You've been confined to bed by the doctor."

Riza suddenly looked very sour.

"I'll be off to arrange your birthday party, then!" said Grumman happily. "You two lovebirds have fun!"

Roy and Riza blushed profusely but by the time they had so much as opened their mouths to protest, he was already gone.

"Sorry about him," Riza said, a little sheepishly, as the door closed.

"It's no problem," Roy replied easily. "The general is a good friend as well as a superior. Like you and I, right?"

A light blush graced Riza's cheeks (which had just cooled down) and she smiled a little. "Yes," she said eventually. "That's right."

Roy smiled too and she blushed deeper, causing him concern. "You look hot- do you have a fever?"

Riza reached up to touch her cheek in surprise, "I think I'm just kind of embarrassed," she said wonderingly.

Elizabeth Hawkeye never blushed- she just… _didn't. _Not until recently, at least.

Roy looked surprised, too, for a moment, then laughed. Riza joined in with a small, almost nervous, chuckle.

"How are the men finding work without us both?" she asked eventually.

"Don't worry, Rize, I'm sure they know what'll happen if you come back and nothing's gotten done," Roy assured her with a grin.

"You should go and give them a hand, you know?"

"I'd rather keep you company," he told her, shrugging. "It's not often we just get to sit around and talk anymore."

"Are you saying that the hole in my back is a blessing in disguise?" Riza asked, raising a carefully plucked eyebrow in amusement.

"Of course not!" said Roy quickly and now he was blushing. "I only meant that I miss talking to you like this!"

"Don't worry, I understand."

"Good…" Roy paused here before continuing, a little uncertainly. "…But why did you do it? My goal isn't important enough for me to want you to risk your life for. It's fine for me, Riza- this is the path that I've chosen for myself… but I couldn't bear it if I lost you- especially as it'd be my fault."

"But this is the path I've chosen too, sir," said Riza earnestly. "I made a promise to always watch your back and I couldn't bear it if you were killed either- not when I could have saved you."

"It wouldn't be your fault, Riza," Roy admonished gently, moving closer as her weakened body began to shake.

Riza just shook her head and hugged herself around her stomach as though attempting to subdue a very persistent ache. "Even if it wasn't my fault… Losing you would be just too painful, you know?"

"Yes… I know what you mean."

"My heart wants to always be by your side."

Roy leaned forward and took her in his arms tenderly, burying his face in the crook of her pale neck. "Then never leave me again," he told her quiet and she mewled her soft agreement into his fluffy black hair.

"Roy?"

"Mmhmm?"

Riza traced a finger down the back of his neck gently, wondering exactly how to say what she had in mind. Sensing her anxiety, Roy pulled back a little.

"Riza?"

Riza just frowned slightly but she was saved from having to answer as Havoc bounded in the door.

"Hey, 's the Lieutenant awake ye- Oh…" Havoc froze as he took in the sight of the close pair holding each other and a few moments passed before a large grin spread over his face and he started laughing. "Am I interrupting anything, guys? I mean, should I be expecting a baby Mustang in a couple of months?"

"Shut up, Havoc. Roy visited you when you lost the use of your legs as well- it doesn't mean anything," Riza reminded him irritably.

"Maybe," said Havoc, still grinning. "But that's pretty much only because he was in the _same ward_ anyway and, you know, _we_ weren't on a first name basis!"

Riza blinked, confused for a moment before realising her mistake and blushing deeply.

"Haha!! The Lieutenant's blushing! How cute!!"

Roy moved to sit back in his seat, glaring at Havoc as he did so, "I was just expressing how glad I was not to have lost her, and isn't it natural that I was worried about her? We all were, after all!"

"Well, if _I_ were to attempt to hold her, I'd probably get a bullet to the head!"

"You're going to get one anyway if you don't be quiet," Riza snapped, eyes flashing. "And don't think I haven't got any guns around here because I have _several_."

After that comment, it didn't take long for Havoc to scram, slamming the door shut behind him on the way out.

Riza looked down, smiling apologetically and Roy sat back down on the bed, drawing her close against him and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling back with a grin.

"Thank you for being here with me, Roy," she told him softly.

Both of them looked down, blushing, and Riza slid her bottom lip between her teeth with a tiny sigh that Roy couldn't possibly have heard.

'_I was going to tell him, Winry-chan,'_ she thought, a little forlornly._ 'I swear I was. It's just… not the right time.'_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N. More on the sniper later but I'm in a randomly good mood so I figured I'd leave all that for a couple of chapters and go on with the partay at Grumman's! Yay! Luvvles, Ri-chan**

**Chapter 3**

Throughout Riza's next few days in hospital she received an astounding number of visitors- mostly the soldiers who had witnessed her fall at the reunion, but, of course, Roy Mustang was a constant presence. One old friend in particular, though, was especially eager to be remembered.

"Kuri! Kuri Silvers! Remember me? Do ya?"

Riza smiled at her old roommate with a familiar cross between irritation and amusement on her pallid face. "Of course I do," she replied easily.

"It's so cute how you're still with Roy, you know!" Kuri deviated happily. "Though I'm a little disappointed- we all voted you both most likely to be married by now!"

Riza, who had grown used to it, was just able to contain her blush and smiled instead. "Actually," she said evenly, "Roy and I are just close friends. It would be awkward after all, since we work together."

"You're not fooling anyone with that," said Kuri, putting her hands on her hips as her face contorted into a deep frown that Riza remembered well and took to mean that she had extremely pissed in an extremely short period of time- Kuri was officially in dangerous mode. "Roy, get outta here- me and Riza-chan're gonna have a little girl-to-girl chat, 'kay?"

Roy, who was slightly unnerved and felt rather like he should stay, avoided Riza's pleading look and agreed, removing himself from the room a moment or two later and leaving his lieutenant to her old friend.

As soon as the door closed, Kuri rounded on her determinedly. "Okie dokie, Riza-chan! What's up with you and him not havin' kids already?!"

"Uhm… Maybe that our sex life is non-existent, Kuri-chan?" Riza tried logically, but Kuri wasn't having any of it.

"_Why_?" she moaned overdramatically.

"Well we haven't been a real couple since before Ishbal," said Riza. "And outside of a 'friends-with-benefits' relationship, how would I be expected to have his children?"

"Okay, okay! Forget the kids- _Why the hell did you break up?!_"

"Listen, Kuri-chan, we just did. Leave it alone- it's been 10 years."

Kuri pouted and flopped down on the edge of Riza's bed with a long, suffering sigh. "Damn. If _you and Roy_ can't keep a relationship going then none of us can!"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Riza. "Many of our old friends have become united since we saw them last- and they've gone further than Roy and I have, too, so why don't you go and bug _them_ for children? I mean, Suzumiya Waters, for one, is either very out of shape or very pregnant, if you ask me- go ask if you can play godmom to her kid or something."

"It's not the same, Riza-chan! You and Roy were 'Prom King and Queen'! You were 'Cutest Couple' from, like, Pre-K to graduation! And 'Most likely to be buried next to each other!' EVERYTHING! Half of us weren't even betting on if you guys _had_ kids as much as we were betting on _how many_ you had!!"

"Okay, Kuri- I get the picture," said Riza, leaning back into her pillows a little, as Kuri coming closer with every word, which was kind of intimidating. "Roy and I were –are- close. Will you go away if I tell you that that's all we'll ever be?"

"No chance!"

"Then, okay."

"Huh?"

"I still like him."

"_Oh my God, I KNEW IT!!_"

Riza grabbed her shoulders quickly and shoved a finger to her lips, "_hush hush_, Kuri-chan!!" she whispered quickly.

"Riza-chan, what's wrong _now_?"

"He doesn't know," said Riza. "And I don't want him to know just yet, okay? But I've already made a promise to a friend that I'll try to tell him soon, so don't worry, okay?"

"Gosh! Wait 'til everybody hears!!"

"Except that they aren't going to," said Riza sternly. "I'm promising you now that I'll tell him when I've fully recovered from this nightmare, so you have to promise me in return that nobody finds out about this until I'm ready for them to, all right?"

"'Kay 'kay, Riza-chan. I promise!" Kuri paused a moment here. "…On one condition…"

"What is it?"

Kuri giggled happily and rested a hand on her friend's shoulder, "that I get to come shopping with you for the dress, of course! You always said that we would- get your wedding dress together, I mean. You know, I'm kinda glad- I thought I'd missed out already!!"

Riza nodded with a smile, "and we can't wait so long before we see each other again this time, Kuri-chan."

"Of course," Kuri agreed. "We'll catch up properly after you confess you-know-what to you-know-who, gottit?"

"Sure."

"I better go- betcha Roy's still standing outside. Make me proud, okay?"

Riza smiled but, as Kuri made to leave, she stopped her. "My grandfather's throwing me a birthday party next week," she said slowly. "It's kind of silly, but I swear that if you show up to support me, I'll tell him there."

"Call me with the details later," said Kuri, beaming, "and, of course, I took the liberty of having good old Fuery-kun, who picked up at your office, add me to your phonebook, so you won't be able to avoid it, either!"

"See you, Kuri-chan."

"You too, Riza-chan!"

She left, absolutely ecstatic with her progress, and Riza lay down, resting her hands on her stomach and staring up at the ceiling with a secret smile on her face. She didn't answer when the returned Roy asked her how their talk had gone, but he could tell just from the look on her face.

It had been perfect. Absolutely perfect. And he was glad.

-

By the end of Riza's first week in hospital, she had managed to convince her lazy but caring superior to return to work- but only because she was leaving too. With a horribly stiff back that still ached 98 of the time, she returned to work with a smile on her face, having suffered withdrawal symptoms all through the previous week and now feeling quite relieved to have returned.

"Morning, Lieutenant Hawkeye! Morning Colonel Mustang!"

"Good morning, Sergeant Major," said Riza, smilingly as she and Roy paused in the track down the hall to the office. "How has Buraha been? Not a bother, I hope- I would have kept him if I could, but the hospital had a strict policy against pets."

"No problem, Lieutenant! I love having him around- he's in the office with Breda right now if you wanna see him."

"You left him with Breda?" said Roy, chuckling a little and Fuery seemed to realise the error of his ways because his eyes widened suddenly and he threw a horrified look back in the direction from which he'd just come.

Riza only smiled, "don't worry," she said. "We'll take care of it. Thank you again, Sergeant Major."

"Great. See you later, Lieutenant! You too, Colonel!"

Roy waved vaguely and the two of them walked on into the office to find Breda standing on a table and holding a chair out in front of him protectively with a panting Hayate sitting nearby with his tail wagging.

"Buraha, come," said Riza and Black Hayate looked up and sniffed the air a little before bounding over to his mommy.

"Breda, get off the table," said Roy bluntly as he walked over to sit at his desk.

"Not until L'tenant Hawkeye gets that demon- demon- demon-_thing_ away from me!!!"

Riza raised an eyebrow and bent down to lift Hayate into her eyes, cringing a little at the uncomfortable stretching of her wound. Roy was by her side in an instant and taking the puppy from her, shaking his head disapprovingly. "No heavy lifting," he admonished her. "The doc said so."

"Buraha is hardly heavy, sir- I can manage," Riza insisted, a little defensively.

"Do you want to open up your wound again, Lieutenant? It was bad enough the first time," said Roy, shifting Hayate a little in his arms as he squirmed towards Riza, who he hadn't seen all week. "Now, I'm going to go and see if Fuery can put Hayate with all his illegal 'Kitties of the Military', then I'll get our paperwork from the main office and bring it back. You just sit tight, okay?"

Riza huffed a little but before she had a chance to complain he had disappeared. She sat down with a sigh and looked up as she heard Breda snickering.

Now sitting at his own desk (rather than standing on it) Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda was looking extremely amused.

"What?" Riza asked irritably.

"Nothin'," said Breda, still grinning widely. "I was just thinking that you and the Colonel're acting pretty chummy lately- and he hasn't been in all week while you were off…"

"Are you suggesting that something happened between us while I was in the _hospital_, Second Lieutenant?" asked Riza, frowning deeply.

"Maaaaybe…"

'_For goodness' sake, does __**everybody **__have to know how I feel about him?'_

"Listen, Breda. The Colonel and I played several million games of chess but that is _all_ we did- got it? We are two responsible adults with more on our minds than fanciful romances."

"Whatever you say, Lieutenant," said Breda and Riza could tell from his tone that he wasn't really agreeing with her.

"_Breda_," she said warningly but the conversation was ended as Havoc and Falman entered the room.

"Hey! Lieutenant Hawkeye, you're back!" said Havoc brightly, walking over to ruffle his 'little sister's' hair with a grin.

Riza glared at him and immediately reached up to fix it, not bothering to reply.

"Same as ever," said Falman, laughing a little as he took his seat, closely followed by Havoc as the safety on Riza's gun clicked off.

"You're just back, Riza-chan- you aren't _already_ waving that gun around, are you?"

"Grandfather!" said Riza, standing up quickly and sending a terrible jolt of pain down her spine. "What are you doing here?!"

"_Grandfather?!_" Havoc, Fuery and Falman repeated in horror.

Riza shot them an annoyed look before turning back towards General Grumman, who was more than just a little amused by their reaction. "Is something wrong, Grandfather?" she asked, drawing his attention back to her.

"Just wanted to run the details of the birthday party by you!" said Grumman happily. "I was thinking you and your guests could take the 5pm train to the East on Friday afternoon and rest up for the night, then have the party on Saturday and go home on Sunday, be back on time for work on Monday. How does that sound? Your grandmother is so excited about seeing you again and she does apologise for not being able to make it out here but she's not feeling too well herself."

Attempting to ignore the men's eyes on her back, Riza nodded with an attempt at a grateful smile, "don't go to too much trouble, will you, Grandfather?"

"Are you kidding?" asked Grumman, grinning widely. "Your grandmother lives for this sort of thing!"

"If you say so, Grandfather."

'Of course! And we have plenty of room so don't be stingy about invitations! Here, I'll start you off, Riza-chan!" Grumman sidestepped her to address the still-gaping men. "How would you three like to attend my dear granddaughter's 26th birthday party this weekend?"

"Grandfather!!" Riza hissed, glaring a little.

"Oh, relax, Riza-chan! You're not half as old as me- no need to hide your age yet!" He turned back to the others brightly. "So how about it? Sound fun?"

"Yes, sir!!" The three men chimed.

"Good! Make sure you're not the only people coming, okay? My little Riza-chan is just too shy for her own good!"

"_Grandfather!!_"

"I get it- I'm leaving!" said Grumman cheerfully. "Well, I'll see you all on Friday evening! Right now I have a train to catch!"

He left and Riza sighed softly as she closed the door after him, shaking her head.

"_General Grumman is your grandfather?!?!_" Havoc, Breda and Falman yelled simultaneously the moment he was out of earshot.

Riza ignored them as she sat down but soon realised that Roy had yet to return with even the beginnings of their paperwork. "Oh, where _is_ he?" she stressed irritably.

"No paperwork to hide under now, Riza," said Havoc, grinning.

"Yeah!" Breda agreed, "so since when was Grumman your Grandad, anyway?!"

"Since the day I was born," Riza replied intolerantly. "Stop asking stupid questions."

Made only more cross by the pain in her back, Riza waited impatiently until Roy returned at last with their work. "Where have you been?" she asked as the day's paperwork landed in front of her with a small _thump_.

"You seem grumpy," Roy noted cheerfully. "So I'm guessing that General Grumman has already told you about the birthday party next week."

"Not only that," said Riza, rolling her eyes. "But he also invited these three idiots."

Havoc, Breda and Falman waved, grinning.

"Ah, you don't mind really," said Roy confidently. "And, for the record- I'm invited as well. I passed him in the hallway."

"…Fantastic."

"Don't be so glum, Riza! You get to spend the entire weekend with your friends!"

"And, again, _fantastic_," said Riza sarcastically and, deciding not to test her any farther, the men let her get back to work.

-

By the end of the week, Riza's back was feeling a lot better and her temperament had taken a similar shift upwards, making her much more agreeable for Friday's long train ride back to the East. In fact, as they boarded the train, all 22 of her guests (Grumman had sent out the invitations himself when it became apparent that Riza didn't intend to ask more than 5 or 6 people to the party) were in pretty good spirits. And why not? They were about to spend the weekend in pretty much five-star accommodation, attending the birthday party of a close friend with absolutely no strings attached. It was the perfect getaway and one desperately needed by all of the military attendees.

The train ride in itself went better than expected considering its tedious duration and, except for Elysia throwing up a couple of times throughout the journey, they reached the Eastern Station without a great deal of trauma and were immediately showed towards what was practically a motorcade of large cars all set to bring them back to General Grumman's estate.

Riza, Winry, Paninya, Kuri, Maria and Sheska left in the first car and Kuri and Winry found instant friends in one another through their mutual determination to see Roy finally together with his beloved first lieutenant. It was obviously killing Kuri not to tell her about the promise Riza had made to confess to Roy at the party and Riza was close as hell to finding a roll of duct tape and taping her friend's mouth shut out of anxiety. She already had Kuri on her case about her promise- she didn't need any more squealing girls, thank you very much.

Still, not even the long trip could deter Kuri- the moment they arrived (well, after Grumman's introduction and the decision that they could sort the ten or so rooms out into pairs among themselves) she immediately sought Riza out alone, just to remind her, once again, of her promise- as though it hadn't been on her mind since they'd left and she could have possibly forgotten.

After assuring her friend of her intentions to follow through on her promise, Riza returned to the larger group, where everyone was still sorting out roommates in a manner that reminded her half of the first day of high school and half of extreme anarchy. In the end, though, it was forcibly decided for her by her friends that she would be sharing her own bedroom with Roy and when she pointed out that her room had only one bed in it, the others just laughed.

Blushing a little at their obvious expectations, Riza attempted to brush it off and shot Roy a reassuring smile before picking up her few bags and following the other guests in a slow procession upstairs.

Her room was just how she remembered it- except maybe just a little cleaner with all of the weapons cases locked (mostly likely by Grumman after he had decided that she would be sharing the room with someone). The shelves were all perfectly aligned with the books in alphabetical order by author's surname and each and every one of her childhood friends (cough-dolls-cough) were leaning carefully against the many decorative pillows that littered her four poster bed with its delicate pink canopy and mahogany posts.

Suddenly self-conscious, Riza turned back around to face Roy, blushing lightly as she watched him survey the room she had spent her summers in as a child. "I hope you don't mind," she said quietly. "It's a little girly."

"It's very cute," Roy assured her with a grin and he carefully nudged his case under the bed with his foot after she did the same.

Riza only blushed deeper, "well, I'm going to freshen up and get dressed for dinner. It's a very large house so there are many bathrooms- the nearest is the ensuite that branches off here. I won't be long so it's probably easiest for you just to wait rather than attempt to find another one and risk walking in on someone else."

Secretly thinking her bright flush was very sweet and wishing that he had a camera, Roy nodded absently and she left the room. Such was the beginning of that _very interesting_ weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Dinner in the Grumman household was a formal occasion, but no one made any comment when the men ran in straight from a ball game they'd been playing outside in their t-shirts and shorts. The atmosphere was very relaxed throughout the meal, despite the large number of guests at the long table- everyone seemed to be involved in some conversation or other and no one was left out.

By the end of dinner, the exhaustion that followed so many hours on a train after a long day of work had begun to hit them. Still, it was another few hours before Roy and Riza left. After the meal they had sat around the table talking for an hour or two as the others left, both secretly wondering how to broach the subject of going to bed with the other, until Grumman himself finally suggested it, at nine or so.

"I'm pretty tired," Roy agreed, watching her cautiously. "Are you coming up to bed as well?"

"I- …Sure," said Riza hesitantly. "Goodnight, Grandfather. Tell Grandmother to get well soon."

"Oh, she'll be up and about tomorrow," said Grumman, smiling widely. "Make sure you two get, at least, a _little_ sleep tonight so you're wide awake for the party!"

Roy smirked and Riza blushed deeply. "_Grandfather!_ …Oh! Never mind! Come on, Roy." She turned on her heel, fuming. "Sleep well, Grandfather," she snapped, and she stormed out.

"Goodnight, General Grumman, sir."

Grumman chuckled to himself softly. "Goodnight, kids."

-

"Don't be too hard on your grandfather, Riza," said Roy, watching in amusement as she practically tore open her suitcase and began rummaging around for her nightclothes violently.

Riza buried her hands in her bag unproductively.

"Riza?"

"I'm sorry," she said eventually, looking down. "I have a lot on my mind and his implications just aren't helping."

Roy knelt down beside her. "It's okay," he said, and he found her short blue nightie for her, placing it in her lap gently.

Riza glanced at him quickly, but lowered her gaze as she caught his eye. "Thank you… You can use the bathroom if you want- I'll change in here."

Roy frowned slightly as he watched her deliberately downcast eyes but he agreed and stood. "All right- I'll only be a minute."

He left and Riza dragged herself to her feet, holding a hand to her head. A few minutes passed in silence, then she slowly began to pull her shirt over her head, just as Roy walked back in.

She didn't realise for a moment, eyes closed as she discarded her shirt and sighed softly to herself, but then she heard his breath catch behind her and span around to face him, staring at her, transfixed. Neither moved for a moment, then Riza turned her back to him suddenly and Roy jolted back to his senses, blushing deeply.

"Sorry," he said gruffly and Riza just shook her head and pulled her nightgown on before removing her skirt from underneath. "I didn't mean to- I thought you'd have finished changing already."

"I got distracted," said Riza, her voice soft and apologetic. "Let's just go to bed now."

"Sure- Are you okay, though?"

Riza seemed surprised by the question. "Yes," she said eventually. "I'm fine." Silently, Riza climbed into the right side of the bed and moved as far to the side as she was able to without the risk of rolling over the edge in the middle of the night, and Roy paused a moment before doing the same on the other side.

…But even though they began the night with more than a body's space between them, they awoke again in each other's arms.

-

Riza breathed in deeply and snuggled closer to Roy's chest as her alarm went off at six in the morning. "I must have set it out of habit last night," she apologised, her breath warm against his flannel-clad chest.

"Don't worry about it," Roy replied, stroking her hair gently. "Do you want to get up or just lay in bed a while longer. You can go back to sleep if you want?"

Riza contemplated this and, as she did, their position seemed to register with her for the first time. She pulled away sharply. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize-!"

"Stop apologizing, Riza," said Roy, bring his arms back around her. "You know, you've seemed so tense these past few days. Are you all right?"

Riza just shook her head. "I'll talk to you about it later, I promise," she said, resting her head back on Roy's chest. "But for now… I'd really like to stay here like this with you, if you don't mind." She blushed prettily here.

Roy kissed the top of her head and slipped his arms back around her waist. "I don't mind," he clarified. "Not at all."

"Thank you…"

-

When Riza next awoke it was much later in the morning and it was because there was someone banging heavily on the door, calling for them to get up with a sort of irritated weariness about their tone that suggested that they had been there for a very long time. "Lieutenant Hawkeye. Colonel. Get up already or I'm coming in."

Riza shifted, instantly recognizing the voice as the Fullmetal Alchemist and reaching up one of her hands to shake his shoulder gently. "Roy, we have to get up," she said softly, but he only pulled her closer. "Edward's standing outside, you know, and if he comes in and sees us like this-"

Roy opened his eyes slowly but didn't move, even as the door opened.

Ed took one look at Riza and Roy so close and blushed from his head to his toes, spinning around quickly so that he had his back to them. "Everyone's going down for breakfast now if you're hungry," he muttered, embarrassed.

Riza blushed too and sat up. "Edward, you can turn around- we're completely decent."

Ed turned around hesitantly and breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw that Riza, the blankets having fallen down around her waist when she sat up, was still fully clothed. "O-Oh."

Riza stood up and walked over to kneel by her suitcase on the floor, as Roy sat up in bed and crossed his legs beneath him. "The Colonel and I are good friends, but that's all we are."

"Oh…" said Ed, again. "I'll see you both downstairs then."

"Yes. Thank you for coming up to wake us, Edward."

"No problem." A moment later, the door was swinging shut behind him.

"He was eager to get away," Roy observed, clearly amused by it all.

"Only because you were intent on treating me like a teddy bear in front of him," Riza replied, rolling her eyes as she busied herself with choosing an outfit for the party later that day.

"What can I say?" said Roy, grinning widely. "I just like touching you."

Riza blushed deeply and turned around quickly to lob her hairbrush in his general direction, before standing up with a black skirt and a baby blue blouse slung over one arm and going off to claim the ensuite bathroom.

"Oww!" Roy protested, but she had already shut the door on him. Shaking his head, he chuckled to himself, suddenly reminded of a very familiar episode many, many years ago, when a five-year-old Riza Hawkeye had caught him searching through her things for some book or other when she'd woken up in the morning and proceeded to chuck assorted personal objects at him from her bedside table.

"What are you laughing about? Get dressed so we can go downstairs already."

Roy blinked, jolted back to reality as Riza re-entered the room, fully dressed with her wet hair hanging casually over one shoulder, and walked over to retrieve her hairbrush from where she'd thrown it.

"Just thinking," said Roy, grinning. "We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?"

"More than 20 years," said Riza. "Is there some reason you're bringing this up now? When we're expected downstairs?"

"Like I said- just thinking," said Roy innocently, his fingertips brushing across her bent back briefly as he got out of bed and she picked her hairbrush up off the floor.

An involuntary shiver ripped through Riza's spine at his fleeting touch but as she straightened and turned around, he was already gone and the bathroom door had clicked shut. _'How long is this… __**wanting**__ going to go on? I promised Kuri-chan that I'd tell him today. Can I? Really?'_

"Are you ready?"

Riza looked up, surprised to find Roy standing ready in front of her. "I'm sorry- I just spaced out."

"There's a lot of that going around this weekend," Roy agreed, grinning. "Want to go down now?"

Riza placed her brush back down on the table and flipped her hair out behind her. "Sure," she said, also smiling. "Let's go."

'_Today's the day. I swear this time.' _She told herself as he held the door open for her._ 'I'm going to tell him today.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**DFR… Sorry for the wait! Hope y'all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it on my trip!! Happy New Year!! –Rissy!**

**Chapter 5**

"God, Ed!" said Winry, meeting him in the hallway as he came back down for breakfast. "You're as red as a fucking tomato! What did they_do_ to you in there?"

Ed looked around anxiously and leaned a little closer. "Th-Th-They w-were-"

Winry rolled her eyes and held up her wrench threateningly. "Spit it out already! What'd you see?!"

"THE COLONEL AND THE LIEUTENANT WERE IN BED TOGETHER!" Ed exclaimed, cowering beneath her, but the words didn't strike her with quite the reaction he had built up to.

Lowering her wrench, she sighed. "Well, duh. Ed! There weren't enough double rooms for all the guests so someone had to share with Riza."

"W-Well yeah, but-!"

"But what?"

Very, very, very red in the face now, Ed grabbed her and pressed her against his chest. "They were up close like this," he said. "And her head was here, and his arms were here and their legs were all tangled up-"

Winry watched him position them both cynically. "Well, were they both… you know… dressed?"

Ed was about to reply, when Roy's voice behind him made him jump and stumble forward into Winry's chest.

"Ed, what on earth are you doing?"

"EDWARD ELRIC IF THIS WAS JUST AN EXCUSE TO FEEL ME UP, I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU!!"

Riza walked into the room behind Roy and was immediately faced with the sight of Ed being repeatedly hit in the head with the young mecha-manic mechanic's infamous wrench.

"Okay, then," said Roy, smirking. "Ed getting beat up by his girlfriend- there's nothing strange about _that_. Let's go, Rize."

Riza nodded and followed him silently. She frowned at Ed sympathetically as she passed, but couldn't help but chuckle softly as Ed started yelling out through the closed door to the kitchen.

"SHE IS JUST MY MECHANIC!!"

"What's wrong with Niisan and Winry?" asked Al, looking up from his breakfast as Roy and Riza walked in to sit to one side of him.

"He stuck his head in her chest and now she's attempting to murder him with that wrench of hers," said Roy, seeming very pleased with himself.

"It was really all Roy's fault," Riza clarified, at Al's look of disbelief. "Completely accidental on Edward's part."

"Oh, I see."

"Sure, ruin my fun, Riza…"

Riza just smiled. "I believe that it's in my job description, _sir_. Besides, as it's my birthday, I should be allowed to have _my_ fun."

Roy just grinned as he reached for one of the bowls in the middle of the table and filled it with chocolate cereal (easily ignoring the fruit and yoghurt that were set down beside it) and tipped his head to the side for a second to kiss her check quickly. "Happy birthday, then. And feel free to have fun making a fool of me for the rest of the day."

"I will," Riza agreed, eyes crinkling slightly in mirth. "In fact… I think I'll impose on you the worst punishment –I'm sorry, I honestly meant '_best fun_'- of all!"

Al watched the playful exchange out of the corner of his eye, smiling secretly.

"Gods, what're you gonna do to me, Rize?" asked Roy, playing along with a look of mock-horror on his face.

"You have to be nice to Edward _all day_- and not even tease him about Winry-chan. At all. _Or else_."

"That_is_ evil."

"It would make me very, very happy," said Riza, pouting cutely.

"I'll_try_."

"Good boy."

A flicker of mischief crossed over Roy's face. "So now I'm Hayate, am I?" he asked her. Riza smirked and Roy barked obliging, reaching up a paw –hand- to pat at her elbow as he panted, with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Roy, not at the table," Riza reprimanded him firmly, but smilingly.

Roy just flashed her a rather wolfish grin and leaned over and gave her cheek one big slobbery doggy kiss, causing Riza to cry out and clasp a hand to her cheek. "Roy!" she gasped reproachfully as she reached for the handkerchief she kept in her sleeve and began cleaning it up.

"You're blushing," he told her smugly. "A lot."

"Roy, did you honestly have to do that?" she complained, ignoring him, and turning her attention to the elderly woman who had just entered through the door at the other side of the room. "Grandmother! How are you feeling?" she asked, immediately rising from her seat and walking over to embrace her.

"I'm perfectly fine," said Elayna Grumman, frowning slightly. "But I heard that you were in hospital up until just recently- are you sure that you should be up and about?"

"I'm fine too, Grandmother," Riza assured her firmly. "Us military gals are tough as nails, remember? Now, why don't you come and sit down and have something to eat?"

"Oh, good. I think I will, dear. Then you can introduce me to all of you little friends."

Roy twitched a little at being called a 'little friend' but managed to smile warmly as Riza's Nana sat down near them.

"Goodness! It's Roy Mustang, isn't it! How you've grown since I last saw you- you were just a little boy!!" she cried, immediately recognizing him among the new faces. "I remember when you and my little Riza-chan used to play naked down by the lake together! You were so adorable when you were young-uns! Weren't they adorable, dear?"

Grumman agreed heartily, eyes twinkling as he sat down beside her. "Absolutely adorable!!"

Riza and Roy both coloured considerably and Ed made it a point to laugh extra loudly as he and Winry sat down, not even stopping when the latter hit him over the head with her wrench once again.

Riza's Nana turned to them, smiling politely. "Good morning, children! My name is Elayna Grumman, little Riza-chan's grandmother. You may call me 'Nana' if you wish."

"Morning, Nana," Ed and Winry replied obligingly.

"What may I call you two young-uns?"

"I'm Winry Rockbell," said the mechanic, smiling brightly. "And this here idiot is Edward Elric."

"Ah! Of course it is!" Elayna's eyes glittered. "I hear you have automail. Do you mind if I see it? I'm absolutely fascinated by automail!"

Ed grimaced and didn't reply as Winry suddenly began bouncing off the walls with excitement. "Ooh! Nana!! D'ya know what? I made it!!"

"Really?"

"YEAH!" Winry babbled excitedly. "Want me to tell you about it?!"

"Why, I would _love_ that, dear!" Elayna replied, and thus, the rest of the meal passed quite happily and without further incident.

-

"Grandfather, what exactly have you got planned for this party you're apparently throwing me later?" asked Riza, watching Grumman carefully as the two of them strolled about the extensive grounds surrounding the house after breakfast.

"Why do you ask, Little Riza-chan? You don't trust me?" he replied innocently.

Riza frowned at his tone and paused to set her hands on her hips firmly. "Because I happen to remember rather explicitly how you tried to hook Aunt Alice up with a stripper at hers last year," she told him.

"But that worked out _wonderfully_!!" Grumman whined childishly, also coming to a halt. "Maybe _her_ child won't be quite as obstinate as you and give me a great-grandkid before I go!"

"Grandfather, you are intolerable!! That baby isn't born yet and I'll bet you've already got a husband lined up!!"

Grumman looked mock-insulted. "Riza-chan, I resent that!! You have no respect for my special skill!!"

"Special skill, Grandfather?" Riza scoffed, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Of picking out husbands for my grandkids!" Grumman expanded, waving his arms around a little for emphasis. "Look how well I did with you after all!!"

"With_me_?!"

"Mr Mustang, of course!! I've meant for the both of you to marry since you were children!!"

Riza found herself blushing furiously. "You fool!" she admonished him. "The Colonel and I are certainly _not_ involved with each other!!"

"That's what you say _now_," her Grandfather chuckled jovially, apparently not at all perturbed by Riza's frustration. "You'll be singing a different tune by the end of your party tonight."

"So you _do_ have something planned!!" Riza cried in anguish and Grumman's grin widened.

"Maybe a little," he admitted happily.

A short pause.

"Do you never give up?" Riza's voice was softer now and more resigned to her fate.

"Never ever," Grumman assured her.

"…And you think that your plan will work?"

Grumman looked absolutely euphoric. "Certainly!!" he exclaimed brightly. "In fact, let me tell you all about it!!"

-

"_My plan begins consequent to the dinner your Grandmother is preparing for your guests with a few games. First off: Karaoke! Nothing like a cute little duet by the young couple to spark the old flame."_

"_Grandfather, don't be ridiculous. I don't sing and nor does Roy- it'd be painfully embarrassing!"_

"_Come now, Riza! You want this, don't you?"_

"…"

"_Don't you?"_

"…_More than anything Grandfather."_

"_Then co-op-er-ATE!"_

_Riza frowned as Grumman flicked her on the nose but nodded anyway. "Only tell me what I ought to do."_

-

"Karaoke? Sure. Sounds fun," Roy agreed as Grumman handed him the microphone, but instead of going over to choose a song, as the old man had meant him to, he waved the microphone over his head and gestured to it. "Who wants to go first?"

The room was silent as Roy continued to offer the mic around. The silence didn't last for long, however. A moment later, Grumman had swept in again. "Perhaps we ought to give that honour to the birthday girl?" he suggested lightly, winking at Riza.

The crowd visibly relaxed- no one wanted to be the one to have to sing first.

"That sounds good," Roy agreed with a relieved smile, eager to get the mic out of his hands and offering it to Riza as instructed. "You up for it, Rize?"

"Well…" Riza replied, feigning embarrassment, just as the Grumman's back-up plan had suggested. "I suppose I could… but absolutely not alone."

"You want to sing a duet?" Roy asked, immediately casting his gaze out into the congregation and hoping that hers would follow.

It didn't.

"Won't you sing with me?" she asked, eyeing the mic that he was still holding and blinking her eyes up at him cutely.

"Uhh…?"

"…As it's my birthday?" Riza finished, flashing him an endearing little smile.

Roy glanced back at the other guests, all of whom were looking directly at him, and his cheeks reddened slightly. Eventually, he offered her a tiny smile. "Alright- why not. It is your birthday after all."

Riza beamed and gave him a little kiss on the cheek- something she had been nervous about doing at first, but found, to her surprise, came a lot easier than she had imagined. A cute little schoolgirl blush took up residence on her usually pallid cheeks as she drew back.

"Would you like to pick the song?" she asked, glancing down at the floor a fidgeting slightly- all an act, of course, for she wasn't the slightest bit nervous.

"I'll do that!" Grumman volunteered happily. "You guys just go and stand up on the stage and give me the thumbs up when you're ready!!"

Roy and Riza glanced at each other and nodded before making their way through the crowd to step up onto the pristine white wooden stage that Edward proudly claimed to have alchemised all on his own earlier that day. Another shared glance, the presentation of a second microphone, then the 'thumbs up' sign from Riza and the music began- a song that both Roy and Riza both instantly recognised from their childhood together. Up on the opposite wall an image flashing with the words they were about to sing and a marker stationed itself directly above the first word, Roy taking this as his cue.

_"Party-  
A rain of champagne  
Sexy Lady-  
A kiss for your escort?"_

Swishing her skirts about her a little, Riza ducked over to give his cheek the desired peck.

_"Now it's showtime  
Despite a message of love  
The moonlight  
Vanished in an instant."_

Roy made a pouty face which caused Riza to smile brightly.

"_Rainy days are pleasant, but no thank you," _she sang airily and Roy replied with: _"Ohhh… A foolish lonely mannn."_

"_But that sort of scene is cute!"_

"_Drops soaking into our eyes…  
Now I'll embrace you with these hands-  
You see, I wanna set you on fire!"_

Roy alchemised a tiny flame and stepped closer to Riza, dancing about a little to the music and holding the flame close to her cheek and resting his other hand on her hip.

"_Tonight at midnight  
Let's look for a star  
That's a bit shy."_

"_Tomorrow morning at 11  
We'll check out from  
Loneliness together," _Roy sang and the hand on her hip moved up to cup her cheek, but Riza only ducked away with a cute little smile.

A few steps off, she taunted him lazily.

"_Dripping wet, you're like a puppy without skill!"_

Roy pouted and ducked his head. _"Ohh… I know I'm incompetent," _he sang with a little sigh at the end.

"_But it's okay to not always be strong."_

"_Wiping drops from your cheeks…" _He stepped up to cup her cheek and this time she didn't pull away.

"_Now I wanna hold you tight!  
A siren of irony that estranges everyone  
Rainy days are pleasant, but no thank you."_

Both of Roy's hands fell to her hips, which she swirled in a circle sexily, moving her hands into his head and bringing his head close to hers so that when he sang next she could feel his breath on her nose.

"_Ohh… A foolish lonely man!"_

"_But that sort of scene is cute,"_ Riza assured him, ended with a breathy little giggle.

"_Drops soaking into our eyes…"_

"_Now I'll embrace you with these hands," _they sang together, then Roy pulled her flush against his chest and let off a firework like spark above their head which was small enough that it merely fizzled away before it reached them below.

_"You see, I wanna set you on fire." _

These last words were accompanied by a tiny kiss to the bridge of Riza's nose, where she had been only too conscious of his breath a moment before, another little giggle from her, and a rather vigorous applause ((and a few wolf whistles)) from all those congregated around ((ED'S)) stage.

"Brilliant! Brilliant!!" Grumman cheered them, stepping up onto the stage ((with a little outside help- he _was_ an old man, after all)) with a microphone of his own in hand and a secret little wink to his granddaughter as he passed. "What a performance!! Who would like to go next!!"

Roy and Riza's daring performance had paved the road for all of the other embarrassed young couples and a moment later every other hand in the room shot up and people were actually crowding for the microphones that had seemed to have borne plague just a few minutes ago.

Roy's arm now securely around the birthday girl's slim waist, the two of them stepped offstage to give the floor to Maria and Denny, the latter of whom looked almost green with fear and the former looking absolutely delighted.

The next song, sung rather magnificently by the second pair was much slower ((moving around might just have caused poor Denny to throw up and if he did that on ED'S stage… well, he definitely wouldn't have anything to sing about…)) and several couples, led by Edward and Winry, oddly enough after the morning's row, began to dance to it.

About halfway through, Roy, who was standing rather awkwardly with Riza on the sidelines, also asked her to dance and the pair made their way out into the crowd to join them.

"You were beautiful," he told her quietly as they took up position –Roy's left hand on her waist and the other held in her own soft white hand- for the dance.

"And you," Riza reciprocated, equally softly. "You sing just as well as you did when we were children."

"It seems so long ago…"

"It_was_ long ago, Roy," Riza reminded him, rather amused.

"I mean… since I was allowed to hold you like this."

"'Allowed'," Riza repeated, frowning slightly now.

Roy smiled encouragingly and squeezed her hand. "You know- the military, our peers, me being stupid definitely… I missed how close we used to be."

"We'll always be close, Roy- even if we aren't rolling around on the floor in mad tickle wars." The note of amusement had returned to her voice and it only served to make Roy smile wider.

"You remember?"

"How could I forget?" Riza mock-sighed. "You broke my arm slamming it against that desk!!"

"And I was punished brutally for it!!" Roy exclaimed loudly. So loudly, in fact, that a rather amused Kuri-chan, dancing nearby with Alphonse Elric ((and apparently giving him advice on how to ask Martel to be his partner for the next dance!!)) had to pause and comment, jokingly, on how it was generally considered taboo to talk during this sort of dance.

Kuri and Al danced off and silence fell between Roy and Riza, though both of them were smiling widely. Then, all too soon, the song was over and they separated.

"Uhmm… L'tenant, may I have this next dance?" Edward asked, reaching up to tap her on the shoulder before bowing gentlemanly. "I'm sure Colonel Ba- I mean, Colonel Mustang… wouldn't mind."

"You're not dancing with Winry?" asked Riza, a little surprised.

"I stepped on her foot and she hit me with her wrench," Ed admitted feebly, glaring at Roy as he laughed. "Anyway, now she's off with Al and I think they're going to dance when Paninya chooses her song."

Riza frowned. "Mind me just a second," she instructed the boys, and she walked off in couple's general direction, coming back a little while later with a smile on her face. "I would love to dance with you, Edward," she told him brightly. "And Roy, I believe young Miss Winry would be quite honoured if you were to ask her to dance."

"She refuses to dance with Alphonse as well?" Roy asked, raising his eyebrow slightly.

"Why no. In fact, it seems he's finally gathered the courage to make a move on his little Chimera friend," she informed him, and, flashing him half-a-glance of her gun with a grin, she took Ed's arm and they walked off to take their positions for the next dance.

Roy grinned too and off he went to beg a dance of Winry Rockbell. Because of course, being the sort of man that he was, nothing suited him better than getting his own back and dancing with the Fullmetal Shrimp's girl.

((TBC next chapter, my Duckies!!!!))


End file.
